Introducing Patrick G. Maggitti, PhD, Dean of the Villanova School of Business

May 14, 2012

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:

I am extremely pleased to announce the appointment of Patrick G. Maggitti, PhD, as The Helen and William O'Toole Dean of the Villanova University School of Business (VSB), effective June 1, 2012. This important appointment is the result of a rigorous national search led by a committee of faculty, students and administrators with trustee participation. The committee considered a wide range of impressive candidates, internal and external. Ultimately I determined that Dr. Maggitti, a member of the Villanova University community, would be an ideal fit for this key leadership role.

Dr. Maggitti currently serves as the Carmen and Sharon Danella Director of the Center for Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship at the Business School, where he is also Associate Professor of Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship. He brings a breadth of experience to his new role, melding wide-ranging knowledge in both the academic and corporate arenas in addition to strong visionary and operational strengths. Dr. Maggitti also has a deep commitment to Villanova's mission and is dedicated to cross-college collaboration and an interdisciplinary approach.

Dr. Maggitti has been widely recognized for both his scholarship and teaching ability. He has authored numerous publications for top management journals such as the Academy of Management Journal, Research Policy and the Journal of Management Studies. In 2011, he received the “Villanova University Outstanding Teaching Award” for faculty with fewer than seven years of service and in 2004 was the recipient of the “Allen J. Krowe Award for Excellence in Teaching” from the R.H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. His research interests focus on dynamic processes, including strategy, innovation, entrepreneurship, decision-making, search behavior, and market and non-market based competition. Dr. Maggitti received his PhD in strategic management from the University of Maryland, College Park; an MBA with high honors from the Johns Hopkins University; and a BS in chemistry from Saint Joseph’s University.

Prior to academia, Dr. Maggitti spent nearly 15 years in the steel and mining industries, where he founded two successful companies and held a variety of roles, including chief executive officer, director of national sales and board member. Dr. Maggitti has also consulted with a variety of international organizations on numerous facets of strategy and entrepreneurial thinking. He is dedicated to community service and currently is the Radnor Township Board of Commissioners’ appointee on the Radnor Memorial Library Board of Trustees.

I would like to commend Dr. Maggitti on the breadth of achievements that have led him to this appointment and am delighted that he has agreed to join the Villanova leadership team. We are fortunate to have such a talented leader within our own community. His energy, creativity, integrity, inclusiveness and collaborative style have made him exceptionally successful, and I believe make him the ideal leader to move VSB forward.

I would also like to express my gratitude to Kevin Clark, PhD, who has served as VSB’s Interim Dean during this past year. Dr. Clark’s steady leadership and unwavering commitment to the institution is impressive and very much appreciated. I would also like to thank the entire search committee for its efforts in finding an ideal leader for the Business School.

Please join me in congratulating Dean Maggitti on his new and well-deserved leadership role.

Sincerely,
Fr. Peter Donohue, OSA, PhD
President

About Villanova

Villanova University was founded in 1842 by the Order of St. Augustine. To this day, Villanova’s Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition is the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University’s six colleges.